Historical visit of Pope Francis to Macedonia – 05/07/2019

"These particular characteristics are also very important for future integration with European nations," he said.

"I hope that this integration will progress in a beneficial way for the whole of the Western Balkans region, with unfailing respect for diversity and fundamental rights."

"All efforts made to ensure that different religious expressions and ethnic groups find common ground in respect of the dignity of each human person and in the corresponding guarantee of fundamental freedoms, they will never be in vain; on the contrary, they will be necessary for a future of peace and fertility, "he said.

The change of name of the country, from the disputed Republic of Macedonia to North Macedonia, came into effect in February as part of an agreement ending its dispute with Greece, preventing the former Yugoslav Republic to enter NATO and the EU.

After landing at the airport of Skopje, the capital, Francisco went by car _ a little Volkswagen Jetta _ at a meeting with the outgoing President, Gjore Ivanov.

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Your 10-hour visit, as part of your vIgnatian international journey that started in Bulgaria, It included a moment of prayer in the museum of the house dedicated to Mother Teresa, as well as a Mbad for the small Catholic community of the country.

Dressed in their white saris, the nuns of the Missionaries of Charity, the congregation founded by Mother Teresa, surrounded Francis to pray in an enclosure built on the ruins of the church where the nun was baptized in 1910.

In his homily during a mbad, Francisco praised Mother Teresa's dedication to the poor, noting that he has satiated his hunger for God. He spoke on a square in the center of Skopje, where, according to the organizers, 15,000 people gathered.

"He went to see the Lord exactly as he went to see the despised, the unloved, the lonely and the forgotten,"

In addition to the political recognition granted to northern Macedonia, the visit is also a spiritual impulse for Catholics throughout the region and of ethnic origin.

"It's great that we have come to see the Pope here in Macedonia because he has a message for young people and the whole of humanity, and we have to apply it in our lives "said Kristiana Mjeshtri, an Albanian Catholic.

Ivan Giljanovic left Split, Croatia. "I am Catholic and that matters a lot to me," he said. "It's all about faith."

Source: AP and DPA